Meditationen am Gnadenstuhl - Thursday Easter VII: Luke 20:9-18

Thursday Easter VII

Daily Lectionary Readings: Numbers 16:41-17:13; Luke 20:1-18; (Numbers 18:1-19:22)

Luke 20:9–18

[9] And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. [10] When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. [11] And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. [12] And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. [13] Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ [14] But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ [15] And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? [16] He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” [17] But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone’?

[18] Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” (ESV)

Here Jesus tells a parable about a wealthy man who plants a vineyard. This comes in the immediate context of our friends, the chief priests and scribes, questioning Jesus' authority to say the things He says. It is immediately followed by some trick questions about the resurrection of the dead, divorce, and paying taxes. The powers that be are trying to get Jesus to slip up in order to find something with which to charge Him so they can have Him executed. Jesus is stepping on their toes, people are starting to listen, and the ruling party of the Jews feels threatened.

This vineyard owner in the parable is equipping it with all things necessary to produce a good income for him. He hires out the care of the vineyard to some local tenants and then leaves the country. Luke does not tell us what the master went off into foreign lands to do, but it should be evident to us that he goes to do the same thing in other lands, recalling for us the words of Christ when He said, “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”1 Whenever Jesus tells a parable about a landowner or nobleman who sets things in motion, goes away for a long time, and then returns, He is speaking of His death, resurrection, and ascension, leaving the earth until His return on the last day.

God is generous and provides us with everything we need. God entrusts man with the responsibility and freedom of will to steward creation, as well as the stewardship of His church on earth, just as the master entrusts the tenants with the vineyard to nurture and harvest an abundant crop. And God expects results!

God is not expecting results because the wage for our hard work is eternal life. And the results come through the work of the Holy Spirit, of Whom we are only the instruments. He has already given us eternal life as a free gift to all who believe in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. No, God expects results because His work is not yet complete. God wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.2 God does this through our words and actions, our sharing of the Gospel, and the way we live our lives, so that others may ask, "What makes this person different? Why is she so hopeful? Why is he so content?"

But the tenants beat and killed the servants of the master sent to collect the fruit of the harvest. Even his beloved son. The tenants in the master's vineyard are the Jews of Jesus' time who rejected the Messiah, despite the signs, wonders, and clear fulfillment of prophecy He embodied before their eyes. They had the promise of the coming Christ, belief in whom would save them, just as that same faith redeemed the many generations of the children of Israel of old. They turned Him over to Pilate to be killed. The Pharisees thought they had self-produced everything necessary to be counted as righteous before God, including their own works. But they lacked the one thing needful: faith. But the whole point of all their religious observances, lifestyles, and culture was to point the way to Christ. Then they rejected Him as an impostor, relying on their own self-importance as sufficient.

What does God do with the impossibly hard-hearted? He destroys them like the master will destroy the tenants. God did just that in 70AD when the temple was destroyed and Jerusalem sacked by the Romans, just as Jesus predicted would happen.3 The master will give the vineyard to others. The meek. The poor in spirit. The lost. Those who hear the Word gladly and cling to it. The Jews turned their back on God, clinging instead to the false god between their ears. But the Gospel was preached instead to "sheep not of this fold," people in the other country to which the master traveled. In other words, the pagan Gentiles.

The Pharisees would have stoned Jesus right there, but they were afraid of the crowd. Why? For them, it was all about power and control, playing the bigshot vineyard manager rather than the humble worker striving toward the master's goals. So, instead of repenting – which is our lesson today – they let Jesus alone and went off to plot and scheme, heaping sin upon sin on their heads. This is always the result of those confronted with undeniable truth yet still refuse to believe it.

1John 10:16 (ESV).

21 Timothy 2:4.

3Luke 21:5, 20-24.